chrisjdel

The show was not based that closely on the story. It just borrowed the general concept and a few names. For one thing, the game was Domination instead of Invasion. Obviously, once Drill took possession of a body he'd be unable to move around easily and could be confined. Why they didn't just all show up and possess children around the world simultaneously, who knows? The alien population might not be nearly as large as ours and once humans became aware of their presence their ability to roam around and do as they pleased would be over with. If there's a consistent logic to all the plot threads - the 1982 storyline, the adult sleepers - they were too slow in revealing it. It started to remind me a bit of Lost in that respect. Adding more and more pieces to the puzzle without giving viewers a solid clue as to how they fit together. Maybe the showrunners had it all worked out. Who knows? I liked the show a lot, especially the first half, and would've liked to see what happened after the finale. But they might've been better off sticking with the central story that was so compelling to begin with. The children being manipulated, the military trying to track (and trap or kill) the elusive alien, the ominous plans to overrun and dominate Earth. Keep the concept nice and simple. Let the complexity come from events unfolding. In my experience, series that rely on an endlessly unfurling puzzle which gets more and more complicated almost always disappoint. This would have been best done as a single season limited run that told its entire story from start to finish.

I don't think she's telepathic. There was no evidence she could hear other peoples' thoughts. For example she never answered a question before it was asked. If she knew what Mike was trying awkwardly to say in the cafeteria scene, that whole conversation would've been unnecessary - and she wouldn't have been surprised when he kissed her. The abilities we've seen her exhibit are clairvoyance (remote viewing) and telekinesis. At first El reminded me a lot of Kurt Russell in Soldier. She seemed to understand everything people said but was reluctant to talk, and gave mostly one word responses when she did. It wasn't a lack of language skills. She was clearly used to speaking only when spoken to. The lab staff was probably told not to engage the girl in casual conversation. The last thing you want is to humanize her and have someone get attached enough for their conscience to kick in. They probably discouraged, maybe even punished, frivolous behavior on her part. She didn't even know what it meant to have a friend. The main difference between Kurt Russell's character and Eleven is that she's still young enough to adjust and live a normal life. She was already talking a lot more in later episodes, in complete sentences too. Give her time.

I only knew Horatius at the Bridge from watching the movie Oblivion. It's a favorite of Tom Cruise's character, and he shares a quote with the alien intelligence "Sally" right before he sacrifices himself blowing her up.

Remember that scene at the Factory in season 1 where a worker started spitting up blood and was hustled away by the red hats? It certainly appeared they were exhibiting symptoms of radiation sickness. Maybe it's exposure to rap tech like the gauntlet. Or you could have a scenario similar to the 2009 movie Moon, in which the walls of the facility are too thin. Normal radiation levels on the moon don't require heavy shielding. But when there's a solar flare or other such event there is no atmosphere or magnetic field like on Earth to protect you. Thick exterior walls and partial burying of the facility are two approaches to screening out the radiation. If you don't bother with any of that, workers receive hazardous levels of exposure each time a solar event occurs. Eventually this leads to acute sickness and death. If the raps built their Factory on the cheap it would certainly explain why they're burning through workers and always need more. Based on the gauntlet it seems like radiation levels that are too high for humans don't bother the raps one bit.

I think it comes from the raptor symbol used by the occupational authority. Raptor, shortened to rap. And they definitely were using the term early on in season 1. For some reason they've just made more direct references to the aliens in season 2. Those cybernetic bodies may be called Hosts because they hold the consciousness of one of the aliens. Powered armor that's very hard to damage comes in handy on a hostile world where all the natives want to kill you. It's also possible this is just the ultimate evolution of the spacesuit. A surrogate body for working either in vacuum or on the surface of a planet whose atmosphere and/or temperature aren't conducive to their physiology. Or maybe they've lived in zero G space habitats for so long their bodies are too fragile to survive a planet's gravity. Even on the moon their delicate forms would be crushed under their own weight. Or of course, they could simply be a race of AIs. Who knows?

Snyder seems to have more knowledge of the Raps and their goals than most of the occupation figures higher up the chain of command. I wonder why that is? The Governor General appears to share this knowledge. The two of them have some kind of relationship; not personal, my own theory is that they're involved together in the shadow insurgency that seems to exist among the high level collaborators. That's why she risked her own safety retrieving him from the camp before it was hit. You'd pretty much expect something like this. A few of the biggest sellouts will turn out to be doing what they're doing in order to get inside the organization, win the invaders' trust, maybe even gain access to some of their technology, intending to eventually strike from within.

You know, that's a distinct possibility. There may be a list of people from all over the colony who meet whatever criteria they've set for sending them ... wherever they're sent. Unless absolutely necessary those people won't be harmed. At least for the time being.

Heh heh heh. Good one. They should have that as a commercial on the Occupation Network. Approved programming for the loyal citizen: if you're watching another channel, we'll know!!!

Probably so. Although it had to have seen Charlie too; I think it just determined that it couldn't target him without killing Will, and perhaps that Will putting himself in the way indicated the boy's survival was important to whatever assignment he was on. The Raps seem oblivious to human relationships. I doubt the drones have any more insight.

Oh Nolan does have feelings for Maddie ... but he's not about to let that get in the way of saving his own skin. She certainly can't count on him. Trouble is, once she leaves the green zone her son is as good as dead. Where's he going to get his insulin? Think about it. The Red Hand is basically an Islamic extremist group turned on its head. Americans showing the same kind of fanaticism right here at home. Instead of a religion they believe in liberty, the pursuit of happiness, and death to all aliens (and their human toadies). They willingly sacrifice their lives to accomplish their objectives. Back in the camp, several of them did so just to provide a distraction. They had that little ritual they performed before every mission. And at the top of the organization, a demagogue who preaches to the masses and urges them to martyr themselves for the cause. They don't do it of course. They recruit others, principally young people, to die for them. Teenagers are especially vulnerable to this kind of recruitment strategy. Exactly what goes on in the Middle East in real life with groups like ISIS and Al Qaeda.